Judges 2023
- Les Allan – Association of University Chief Security Officers (AUCSO)
- Graham Bassett – Security Commonwealth (SyCOM)
- Alan Cain – National Association for Healthcare Security (NAHS)
- Alex Carmichael – Security Systems and Alarms Inspection Board (SSAIB)
- Darren Carter CPP MSyI F.ISRM – ASIS UK
- Tony Cockcroft – British Security Industry Association (BSIA)
- Oliver Curran – Security Commonwealth (SyCOM)
- Mark Death – International Professional Security Association (IPSA)
- Letitia Emeana – ASIS UK
- Paul Fullwood – Security Industry Authority (SIA)
- Mike Hurst – International Foundation for Protection Officers (IFPO UK)
- Paul Jeffrey – Perimeter Security Suppliers Association (PSSA)
- Richard Jenkins – National Security inspectorate (NSI)
- Russel Kerr – British Security Industry Association (BSIA)
- Jayne King – Security Commonwealth (SyCOM)
- Darren Miller – Aerospace, Defence and Security (ADS)
- David Milner – ATM Industry Association (ATMIA)
- Simon Pears – International Professional Security Association (IPSA)
- Laurence Perkins – Association of University Chief Security Officers (AUCSO)
- Don Randall MBE – The Register of Chartered Security Professionals (CSyP) / City of London Crime Prevention Association (CoLCPA)
- Roger Ringham – National Association for Healthcare Security (NAHS)
- Michelle Russell – Security Industry Authority (SIA)
- David Scott – Skills for Security
- Sarb Sembhi – Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA)
- Emma Shaw – The Defence Industry Security Association (DISA)
- Elizabeth Sheldon – Aerospace, Defence and Security (ADS)
- David Tente – ATM Industry Association (ATMIA)
- Gary Thomas – Association of Security Consultants (ASC)
- Andy Williams – TINYg
- Chris Smith FSyi CSyP MSc – The Security Institute (Syl)
- Geoff Zeidler – Police and Security Group (PaS)
With 44 years’ experience in police, government, and senior safety and security roles, Les is an inspirational director and thought influencer. He is currently serving as Director of SafeGuarding Services at Heriot-Watt University, with campuses worldwide. He is current Chairman of AUCSO and an IFPO Advisory Board member.
Les helps spread best practice across the university sector, creating strategic alliances, contributing to professional journals, and encouraging collaboration with government and law enforcement agencies. Les champions the use of innovative technology to enhance the reach of university security, which has led to multiple security industry awards and global recognition (Security & Fire Excellence Awards winners 2018 and 2019. OSPAs Winner 2019. THE Awards Asia 2020 Finalists).
In the IFSEC Global Top Influencers in Security & Fire 2020 Security Rankings, Les was ranked as #2 Security Influencer. He is a frequent guest speaker at conferences and panelist in global leadership webinars.
Graham has spent 25+ years in the security sector and was last year’s recipient of the OSPAs Lifetime Achievement Award.
Graham is a board director and vice chair of the City Security Council, Trustee of PTSD Resolution (UK Veterans Mental Health Charity), Trustee of the City of London Police Children’s Charity, Assistant Regional Vice President for ASIS International (UK, Benelux, France and Ireland), Board Member of the Security Commonwealth, CSSC Executive Management Board, Committee Member of the City of London Crime Prevention Association, Member and Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals, Freeman of the City of London, Member of the Security Institute, Founding Director of GBRUK a niche London based recruitment consultancy, joint founder of AllSecurityEvents, with additional involvement in a variety of other security related initiatives.
Alan Cain is the Vice Chair for the National Association for Healthcare Security.
He is he Resilience Manager working for NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care, where he is responsible for the provision of specialist support in relation to Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR).
Prior to joining the NHS he worked in security risk management across a range of sectors including higher education, petroleum and gas, and embassies.
He holds an MA in Intelligence and Security Studies from the University of Salford and is a Fellow of both the Security Institute and the Institute of Strategic Risk Management.
In 2015, Alex Carmichael took over from Geoff Tate as the chief executive of SSAIB – the UK and Ireland’s leading certification body for organisations providing security systems and services, fire detection and alarm systems and manned services – which now has some 1800 registered firms.
Alex joined SSAIB from the British Security Industry Association (BSIA,) where he was director of technical services and exports. His duties on various UK and European committees are helped by his strong technical background and close working relationship with a variety of industry organisations.
Darren’s career spans 25 years within the security industry, 21 years of which have been within the hospitality sector. Having held several senior management positions with major hotel chains, Darren is now in his 17th year as Group Director of Security & Safety for Edwardian Hotels London.
He takes an active role in his support of the wider security industry and currently holds several voluntary engagement roles as: Vice Chair of ASIS International UK Chapter, Chair of the Institute of Hotel Security Management, a certified member of The Security Institute and a member of the Security Commonwealth. His position allows him the opportunity and privilege to represent the industry in a number of other capacities including the role of Industry Sector Lead (hotels) with CSSC, Chair of the Hotel Industry Fraud Forum and he sits on several multi agency strategic partnership groups focusing on countering terrorism, child exploitation and modern slavery.
Prior to joining the industry Darren served for 8 years in the Fleet Air arm, Royal Navy operating across Europe, North Africa and South America.
Tony has over 20 years’ experience in the Security Industry, serving as a director in both regional and national companies.
He holds an MBA and he is the Chairman of the Security Officers Section of the BSIA and the Vice Chairman of the BSIA.
Tony has owned and run his own security business Independent Contractor Security for the last 12 years.
Oliver Curran BSc (Hons) has worked in the Security Industry for over 26 years, initially as a contract Security Officer in the corporate sector but for the last 14 years as an In-House Security Manager at University College London (UCL). UCL has a student population of over 52,000 students in over 250 buildings, with a Security workforce of over 280 personnel.
Oliver’s keenness to improve the Security Industry and to give a voice to all front line staff has led him to undertake many voluntary roles outside of UCL including Vice Chairman AUCSO (Association of University Chief Security Officers), Security Commonwealth Board Member, Co-Chair Security Commonwealth’s EDI SIG, PSS (Public Space Security) group member, UK OSPAs Judge and BSI Standards Development group member.
Mark Heads up the Physical Security department within Group Risk & Compliance for a large Sports Betting, Gaming & Entertainment company which has over 16,000 employees & 40+ Corporate Locations globally.
With over 20 years’ experience, Mark has worked with global organisations ensuring that their physical security requirements are not only met, but are regularly assessed, keeping clients informed of latest advances in physical security management and working with them through deployment.
As a board Director of the International Professional Security Association (IPSA), Mark volunteers his time with the association in contributing to the professionalism and works closely with the IPSA Front Line forum ensuring they have a voice within the industry.
Mark is highly regarded by his peers as dedicated and hardworking, with an internal drive to deliver excellence.
Outside of work, Mark likes spending time outdoors exploring new locations on long walks with his wife and dog.
Letitia Emeana has been active in security since 2001. She qualified with her ASIS PSP in December 2007, IT Governance CISMP 2014 and ASIS CPP in 2017. Letitia is a multi-disciplinary security professional and leader with significant experience in Security Design, Security Technology and Security Implementation. Letitia is the Global Security Capability Manager at Unilever and held previous Leadership positions at Tesla, Amazon and Lloyds Banking Group. She is a passionate advocate for Diversity in its broadest sense and was core to the establishment of Women’s Security groups in Amazon, Tesla and Unilever.
Letitia’s background in global security gives her a broad appreciation of the multifaceted elements for supplier capability, corporate thinking, changing threats and new technologies. She is also able to connect this with the latest thinking on coaching, facilitation and innovation to maximise the success of capability. She brings enthusiasm and motivation to a team, whilst being very much a servant leader with diversity rooted in her DNA. She enjoys learning from others and sharing thoughts on improvements by harnessing these strengths.
Paul was appointed as the interim Director for Inspections and Enforcement of the SIA on 17th May 2021.
Paul joined the SIA after a 33-year career with the Police Service and previously HM Armed Forces. Paul retired from policing in 2020 as Assistant Chief Constable for Bedfordshire Police, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Constabularies with responsibility for major crime, armed policing, counter terrorism, roads policing, scientific services, civil contingencies, dogs and public order specialist services.
Paul was the national policing lead for the strategic investigation of complex, sensitive and serious crime, advising on policy, mentoring and developing future senior law enforcement leaders and senior detectives. Paul has been a detective at every rank and has served previously with Sussex Police, National Crime Squad and Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
Paul continues to provide support across UK law enforcement as a College of Policing Associate and advisor. This also includes ongoing oversight of a high-profile child homicide enquiry and recently leading on sensitive national thematic/homicide reviews on behalf of the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) across the United Kingdom.
Mike Hurst CPP® CPOI has been active in the Security and Fire Sector for over 30 years and is Director of executive recruiters HJA Consult. Through his professional and volunteer leadership experience, he has developed an excellent international network of senior security professionals. A regular contributor to the security media, he has spoken and been on panels at events globally.
He is joint founder of AllSecurityEvents.com the listing site and is named on the IFSEC Global Influencers list. He is also the founder of the #SecurityMindsMatter project.
He is the Executive Director of the International Foundation for Protection Officers (IFPO) UK & Ireland.
Paul Jeffrey is a founder Director of the Perimeter Security Suppliers Association (PSSA) serving as its Chairman for the last 2 years. He has a background of over 27 years in vehicle access control and hostile vehicle mitigation and ran one of the first business to start vehicle impact testing in the UK.
As part of his PSSA remit, Paul has been involved with improving quality levels within the physical security industry and driving better communication between all stakeholders in perimeter security and event protection.
Richard Jenkins was appointed in March 2014 as CEO at NSI – National Security Inspectorate. As a specialist certification body it maintains a register of over 1800 Approved Companies with NSI Gold approval the most widely recognised and highest benchmark of approval in the Security Systems, Guarding Services and Fire Safety sectors. Integrating Quality Management (BS EN ISO 9001) with Product/Services standards and codes of practice and NSI quality schedules, NSI Gold is a unique approach realising synergies for approved companies – and maximising inspection regime focus – in the delivery of the highest standards of security and safety in practise.
Richard’s experience – a multi-disciplined career in the private sector in the UK and EMEA., including sales, retail and wholesale distribution, manufacturing and international logistics and systems, with organisations including IKEA, Chubb, Steelcase and Caterpillar, has brought a strong service ethos, with determination to deliver transparency and clarity, in the firm interest of supporting high standards of professionalism and competence in the sector.
A graduate of the University of Aberdeen, Russel joined the board of SecuriGroup in 2001 before his appointment as Managing Director in 2003. His role at SecuriGroup involves oversight of statutory compliance, governance, and corporate risk.
Russel is a member of the Security Institute, is an Executive Committee Member and Regional Chair of the British Security Industry Association (BSIA). In 2021, he was invited to establish and chair the board of CSSC Scotland ahead of the UN Climate Conference, COP26.
He continues to support best industry practice by working closely with the sector’s Home Office Regulator, having held a number of positions including the Security Industry Authority’s Strategic Consultation Group and Quality Standards Committee.
Jayne King – Security Commonwealth
Jayne King joined the NHS in 1991 and has extensive experience in managing both in house and outsourced Healthcare Security Services. She is the Head of Security and Site Services at Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, which is one of the largest and oldest hospitals in the UK. One of Jayne’s key priorities is the building of partnerships and community working within the security sector and the promotion of the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion strategy within the security industry. Jayne is an Accredited Security Management Specialist (ASMS), a Fellow of the Security Institute (FSyI), President of the National Association for Healthcare Security (NAHS) and the current Chair of the Security Commonwealth (SyCom).
Prior to her NHS career, Jayne spent 9 years in the Royal Air Force assigned to both National and NATO Forces.
Darren joined ADS after 30 years’ service in Hampshire Constabulary. He previously held roles as an experienced Tactical Firearms Commander and Public Order and Public Safety Commander, planning and delivering various operations including music events, sporting events, protests and other policing operations.
He also previously worked on a range of national policing issues including firearms licensing and ICT programmes, as well as chairing the Tactical Coordination Group for Hampshire Local Resilience Forum‘s multi-agency response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After several years in management roles within electronic security, CCTV and Access Control industries David moved over to the Cash & Valuables management industry. He current works as Director of Business Development for specialist UK manufacturer Spinnaker International Ltd.; a Company that supplies specialist security devices into 45 countries with a focus on technologies offering protection for cash in storage or during transport. Also included are asset protection and monitoring solutions that recently achieved European Space Agency funding.
2022 Elected Chairman for the European Intelligent Cash Protection Association, representing the major manufacturing stakeholders in the cash protection niche. Board member of the ATM Industry Association (Europe).
Simon Pears became a Chartered Security Professional (CSyP) in 2013 and is the Chair of the International Professional Security Association (IPSA) which he was elected to in 2020 having served on their board since 2011.
In addition, Simon is the Global Security Director at Sodexo, where he provides security solutions, guidance, and advice to over 40 countries within their global portfolio and in 2021 Simon was named within the prestigious list of Global Influencers for Security and Fire for 2021 by IFSEC. Simon is a retired magistrate, having served on the Western Bench for nearly 10 years.
Laurence Perkins is currently the Head of Security at the University of Leicester, an institution he has worked at for 14 years. He was previously the Security Operations Manager before taking on his current role in 2018. Prior to working in the Higher Education Sector, Laurence spent six years working as a manager within retail banking.
Laurence and his team have received a number of accolades within the security industry over the last few years, and the most recent was Laurence being named In-House Security Manager of the Year (OSPA’s 2022). Laurence has a Degree in Security & Risk Management and is extremely determined to improve security professionalism and standards with an emphasis on innovation and service delivery.
He is the Midlands Chair for the Association of University Chief Security Officers (AUCSO), a position which he has held since 2019 and organizes their webinar program. He has previously participated in an international exchange program where he visited Singapore to carry out research into training standards that could then be implemented across university campuses.
Laurence is a member of the Security Institute and is an advocate of providing training and development opportunities, in order to support staff with their career progression.
Don Randall MBE – CSyP and CoLCPA
Don Randall served with the City of London Police from 1969-1995, with specific emphasis on fraud and counter terrorism. Following 13 years at JPMorgan Chase as Managing Director, he joined the Bank of England in 2008 and was appointed the Bank’s first Chief Information Security Officer in 2013.
Don is chairman of the ‘Sister Banks’, City of London Crime Prevention Association and ‘Project Griffin’ and a member of the City of London Crime Disorder Reduction Panel. He is also a member of the London First Security Advisory Board, Executive Member of the London Resilience Board, Chairman of the London Resilience Business Sector Panel and Co-founder and Vice Chairman of the Cross Sector Safety & Security Communications initiative.
Don is a Fellow of the Security Institute and a Chartered Security Professional. He has also served as an external lay member of the City of London Police Committee.
In 2007, Don was awarded an MBE for services to law enforcement for the harmonisation of the public/private sectors. He was presented with a Security Excellence Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Security Profession in 2013 and in 2015 was a recipient of the International Police and Public Safety 9/11 Commendation Medal. In 2018 he received the UK OSPAs Lifetime Achievement Award sponsored by the Security Institute.
Don is currently a Senior Security Advisor to several major firms engaged in the following areas: cyber security, legal and regulatory, physical and technical security, international close protection, pre-employment screening, risk management, counter-terrorism, trans-national criminal activities, asset recovery and fraud investigations.
Roger is Chair of the National Association for Healthcare Security (NAHS). He is a Board Director of NAHS Limited (Companies House registration 13242341), and Chair of the South West Region Security Management Group (SWSMG).
In addition, Roger works as an Assistant Director in the NHS, where he is the Head of Service for Security and Fraud Experts (SAFE).
SAFE delivers specialist services including security management, counter-fraud and related training to: NHS organisations, Local Government Authorities and to the private sector. It is responsible for the protection of >30,000 employees at over 1,000 sites nationwide from the threat of physical harm and financial abuse.
Before joining the NHS, Roger served as a Police Officer and spent most of his time in a variety of investigative roles. Specialising in the investigation of major, serious, and complex crime.
In addition, he trained as an Authorised Firearms Officer. Working in V.I.P. Protection and engaged on Category ‘A’ escort duties (Transportation of High Value Targets).
Michelle joined the SIA as Director of Partnership and Interventions in January 2020, leading the criminal enforcement and regulatory inspection functions. She was appointed as the Chief Executive of the SIA in October 2020. She has over 25 years’ experience of working in regulation and regulatory environments in both the public and private sectors.
Prior to the SIA, Michelle worked at the Charity Commission where she was the Director of Investigations, Monitoring and Enforcement for over 5 years. She was accountable for its high-risk investigations and compliance work and specialist monitoring, outreach and accountancy functions. Michelle developed national strategies on counter-terrorism, fraud and financial abuse, and safeguarding and sat on a number of cross government and industry groups, particularly on terrorism and serious crime issues.
Before that Michelle held various other operational and compliance roles, and started her career as a qualified solicitor in the private and then public sector.
David Scott – Skills for Security
David’s passion lies in the development and improvement of training within the fire and security industry. As a past apprentice himself, he is driven by his love for the industry that provided him with so many opportunities to grow and develop. With a determination to give something back, David’s career goal is to raise apprenticeship participation, employer engagement in training and continuously drive industry improvements by raising the standard of training delivered throughout the United Kingdom.
Over the last 8 years David has been employed by New College Lanarkshire with a remit to drive continuous improvement in their apprenticeship programme. After a successful number of years lecturing, David was promoted to Curriculum & Quality Manager in 2016, where he was responsible for the curriculum strategy, development & delivery to over 450 students, with the line management responsibility of 20 staff across a mixed curriculum of Carpentry & Joinery, Built Environment and Electronic Fire & Security sectors. David’s passion was instrumental in New College Lanarkshire’s rise in becoming the largest provider of the fire and security apprenticeship programme in the UK, with 200 apprentices enrolled. Since then, New College Lanarkshire have had huge success at national events, with 12 placed winners at the security excellence awards over 8 years.
David’s commitment to the industry is evident; he regularly attends key industry events across the UK to deliver engaging and promotional talks to industry about training.
Qualified to degree level in both Teaching and Management, David is an advocate of self-development and continuous improvement, and has recently become an accredited chartered manager with the CMI.
Sarb is the CTO & CISO at Virtually Informed, and has previously been a CTO & CISO for the Noord Group. He has previous worked as a consultant covering most issues in risk and security. Sarb’s contributions to the industry include the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry Defence and Security Committee and its Cybersecurity working group. Other contributions include: Past President of the ISACA London Chapter, Chair of ISACA International GRA Region 3 Sub-Committee, Chair of ISACA International GRA Committee, ISSA UK Advisory Group member, InfoSecurity Magazine Editorial Group member. Sarb has also served on several Security Standards Groups, and continues to write for several publications and speak at risk and security events around the world.
Emma Shaw, MBA, CSyP, FSyl – DISA
Emma is the founder and Managing Director of Esoteric Ltd, a well-established Electronic Bug Sweeping, Counter-Espionage and Intelligence gathering company based in Surrey, UK. An MBA graduate, and a Chartered Security Professional (CSyP) Emma’s early career was spent with the Royal Military Police, followed by a career in the Ministry of Defence.
She is a Vice President of the Security Institute, having previously been Chairman (2013 to 2015); Board Director of the Defence Industry Security Association (DISA) and council member for City and Security Resilience Networks (CSARN).
She is a Non-Executive Director of Kings Security Group Solutions Ltd, and Falanx Group Ltd, an AIM listed geopolitical and intelligence company. In 2012, Emma won the Security Consultant of the Year at the Security Excellence Awards.
Elizabeth Sheldon is an executive director for CCL Solutions Group, digital forensic and data experts. but also operational in the security sector at government and senior corporate levels. Prior to the purchase of her company by CCL solutions group, Elizabeth was CEO and then Chairman of Evidence Talks Ltd.
Currently chairing both the strategy group for the South Central Institute of Technology and the Security Advisory Board of Cranfield University Elizabeth is also a trustee of Women Leaders UK where she organises an annual festival for employers and students to showcase the opportunities for STEM careers. A trustee of Women in International Security (WiIS) and the SEMLEP ambassador for security Elizabeth is also proud to be a trustee of Camphill in Milton Keynes.
Chris is a current Board Director of The Security Institute. He has spent over 30 years in senior corporate security roles in the leisure industry (Marriott, Four Seasons and Trust House Forte), financial services (Deutsche Bank and HSBC) and currently in media and advertising (WPP).
His responsibilities have included fraud risk, physical security, business continuity, cyber security, geopolitical risk, insider risk and crisis management. Chris started life in law enforcement and intelligence. He is a founding Fellow of the Security Institute, a Chartered Security Professional and past Chair of OSAC (Hong Kong & Macao). He is a former Board Trustee and Chair of the fund-raising committee for Hostage International. Chris has an MSc in criminology from Leicester University.
The ATM Industry Association is a global trade association with over 11,000 members in 65 countries, representing ATM and payments professionals from a broad cross-section of the industry. This includes ATM operators and manufacturers, financial institutions, payment processors, service providers, networks, and a variety of technology companies.
In his current role as Executive Director, USA, Canada, and Americas, David is responsible for leading ATMIA’s largest region. He works with the membership team to maintain and grow U.S. membership, develops and manages content for the industry’s premier conference, manages regional committee groups, and serves as an ATM industry evangelist. David also leads advocacy efforts for the region at the local, state, and federal regulatory levels, representing the interests of the broader ATM industry, as well as consumers who depend on ATMs for convenient access to cash. In addition, David is the incoming President of the ATM Security Association, a subsidiary group of ATMIA that is focused strictly on ATM security.
Gary Thomas has 35 years’ experience working in the security industry, beginning his career as an alarm installer, and progressing organically over the years to where he now specialises as an independent security consultant.
Gary is a full member of the Security Institute, the Institution of Engineering and Technology and ASIS, and has served as on the Board of the Association of Security Consultants since 2018.
Andy Williams JP FRSA FSyI F.ISRM is Deputy Group Chairman and Director of TINYg, the international counter terrorism information sharing network.
Now in his fifth decade in law enforcement and security management, Andy spends a large proportion of time volunteering as a security profession mentor and as a magistrate. He was formally Chairman of the UK Chapter and Regional Vice President of ASIS international, Middle Warden of the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals and a member of the Validation Board of the Security Institute. He is also a member of several security related advisory councils.
Andy is a regular presenter at international security conferences, has written several articles for security publications and has been interviewed on television in relation to security issues.
Geoff Zeidler studied Engineering at Cambridge and then worked in strategic consulting at Bain & Co, and Investment Banking at Robert Fleming & Co where he ran the Defence, Industry and Technology team. In 1997 he joined Spirent plc as the Director of Business Development to lead transformation into a TeleComs group through acquisitions; and then ran the Europe and Wireless Divisions. He left in 2005 and worked as Interim Strategy Director at De La Rue before being appointed the Commercial Director for the Forensic Science Service working closely with the police and Home Office.
In 2008 Geoff was appointed Country President of Securitas in the UK & Ireland and following re-invigoration of the business lead the acquisitions and integration of Reliance and Chubb which quadrupled the size of the company to create the UK’s second largest manned guarding business. In 2013, he returned to an advisory career assisting companies in the Business Services; Technology; Justice and Security markets to grow; either through transactions as a Partner in Wyvern Partners; or an advisor/investor as Director of GZC. He Chairs the Police & Security Initiative with the National Police Chiefs Council on behalf of the BSIA.
As a non-Executive he was Chairman of the BSIA from 2012-14; and is currently Deputy Chairman of the SIA (ALB regulator of the Security Industry) and Chairman of Kings Solutions Group Ltd.
